Top News:
Richard Sandomir / Bats:
ESPN Breaks Up ‘Sunday Night Baseball’ Team — ESPN ended its 20-year association with Jon Miller and Joe Morgan as the voices of “Sunday Night Baseball” on Monday. They declined to renew Morgan's contract and have asked Miller if he wants to stay on as the radio voice of the Sunday night games.
RELATED:
MLB:
Jon Miller, Joe Morgan not returning — Jon Miller and Joe Morgan's 21-year run on ESPN's “Sunday Night Baseball” is over. — Morgan's contract is expiring and he will not be renewed. Miller's contract is also expiring though he may remain at ESPN working the “Sunday Night Baseball” series and postseason baseball for ESPN Radio.
Discussion:
Giants Win, The Mighty Quinn Media Machine, It's About The Money and Over the Monster
Wallace Matthews / ESPN:
Source: Yanks will overpay Derek Jeter — Derek Jeter is going to be paid Ryan Howard money for putting up Marco Scutaro numbers. — “The Yankees are going to overpay him,” said a source with intimate knowledge of the discussions between the team and Casey Close, Jeter's agent.
Discussion:
baseballmusings.com, Bronx Baseball Daily, MLB Rumors, HardballTalk, NESN.com, lenNY's Yankees and My Pinstripes
RELATED:
Christian Red / NY Daily News:
Jorge Posada plans to be starting catcher, says Yankees should wrap up Derek Jeter contract talks — He is entering the last year of his four-year, $52.4 million contract, and he's logged a lot of miles on his 39-year-old body. — But when blue-chip Yankee catching prospect Jesus Montero's name …
Discussion:
HardballTalk, Pinstriped Bible, BronxBanterBlog.com, Sliding Into Home, Subway Squawkers, LADY AT THE BAT and TYU
Mark Feinsand / NY Daily News:
Yankees touch base with Cliff Lee, face competition from Brewers …
Discussion:
Lone Star Ball and NESN.com
Michael S. Schmidt / New York Times:
Yankees Start the Wooing of Lee Immediately
Discussion:
Pinstripe Alley, NoMaas.org and New Jersey Online
Michael Baron / MetsBlog.com:
Mets Hire Paul DePodesta as VP — The Mets have hired Paul DePodesta as Special Assistant to the General Manager, and he will serve as Vice President of player development and amateur scouting. — DePodesta had been serving as a special assistant to the baseball operations department for the San Diego Padres.
Discussion:
Yahoo! Sports and Kranepool Society
RELATED:
Tim Dierkes / MLB Rumors:
2011 Top 50 Free Agents — It's time for the fifth annual MLB Trade Rumors Top 50 Free Agents list! The entire list of available free agents can be found here. — A note before we begin - this is a complicated puzzle, and I'll be satisfied if I'm correct on a quarter of these guesses.
Discussion:
Sports Illustrated, MLB Daily Dish, Bucs Dugout and Pirates Prospects
RELATED:
Gordon Edes / ESPN:
Source: Red Sox eye Jayson Werth — BOSTON — The Red Sox, as expected, have contacted agent Scott Boras regarding their interest in free-agent outfielder Jayson Werth, according to a baseball source. — There was no word yet on whether the team was pursuing outfielder Carl Crawford, although that would appear to be a no-brainer.
Discussion:
MLB Daily Dish, Phillies Nation and NESN.com
Jon Heyman / Sports Illustrated:
A's win bidding for Japan's Iwakuma — The Oakland A's have taken another step in filling out one of the game's most intriguing starting rotations in winning the bidding for Japanese pitcher Hisashi Iwakuma, SI.com has confirmed. — Agent Don Nonura tweeted Monday that the A's had won …
Discussion:
Athletics Nation, Baseball-Reference Blog, Kranepool Society and Yahoo! Sports
RELATED:
Jane Lee / MLB.com:
A's win bidding for Japan's Iwakuma
Discussion:
Over The Baggy, Marinerds, etc., Lone Star Ball and Mariners blog
Aaron Gleeman / NBCSports.com:
A's win exclusive rights to negotiate with Japanese pitcher Hisashi Iwakuma
Discussion:
SFGate, HardballTalk, Mets Merized Online, NESN.com and Halos Heaven
Jeff Sullivan / Lookout Landing:
A's Win Rights To Hisashi Iwakuma?
Discussion:
U.S.S. Mariner, Baseball Time in Arlington, Athletics Nation and Seattle Times
Peter J. Nash / haulsofshame.com:
CHIN MUSIC: Doubleday Docs Missing; Bud Selig a Big Fan of Abner; More on Bogus Mantle Jerseys; Halper, “Father of LOA's” —Abner Doubleday never played a role in the development of our “National Pastime,” but thanks to A.G. Spalding and the Mills Commission of 1905 …
RELATED:
Kuiperfan / Joe Posnanski:
History Lessons With Bud
Discussion:
The Mighty Quinn Media Machine and BBTF's Baseball Primer …
Jon Paul Morosi / Fox Sports:
Washburn considering MLB comeback — Although he didn't pitch this year, left-hander Jarrod Washburn never formally announced his retirement. — That was probably wise. — Washburn told FOXSports.com on Monday that he is considering a comeback. — “I honestly am very happy …
Discussion:
JSOnline, HardballTalk and MLB Rumors
RELATED:
Tim Kurkjian / MLB:
Source: Tsuyoshi Nishioka to be posted — Tsuyoshi Nishioka, a 26-year-old middle infielder for the Chiba Lotte Marines of the Pacific League in Japan, will be posted for MLB teams this week, a source close to the situation said Monday. — Nishioka won the Pacific League batting title this year with a .346 average.
Discussion:
MLB Rumors, HardballTalk and Britt's Bird Watch
Charlie Samuels / Yahoo! Sports:
Derrek Lee has surgery on his right thumb — has had surgery to repair a torn ligament in his right thumb, an injury that appeared to limit his production for much of the 2010 season. — Lee, who turned 35 in September, is expected to recover in advance of spring training.
Discussion:
HardballTalk, Talking Chop and Chicago Breaking Sports
Sports Illustrated:
Potential free-agent busts (Pavano, Wood) and bargains (Garland, Lee) … No teams want to make a mistake in free agency, as a bad contract can hamper a franchise for years (although the world champion Giants overcame bad deals for Barry Zito and Aaron Rowand). Nobody wants to add the wrong person to their clubhouse, either.
Discussion:
Sliding Into Home and MetsBlog.com
